Dental appliance.



No. 702,805. Patented June, l7, I902.

H. E. LINDAS.

DENTAL APPLIANCE.

' (A aplication filed Oct. 21, 1901. (No Model.) 2 Sheets-$heet I.

75 .f A F 5,2

W/TNESSES: 30 9 3/ 3.9 INVENTOH M flan/ 1i? Linda; MM 8) A TTOHN 8 THEuoflms F'EYZRS co, wamurua. WASHINGTON, D. c.

'No. 702,805. Patented. June l7, I902.

' H. E. LINDAS.

DENTAL APPLIANCE.

(Application filed Oct. 21, 1901.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

III/III UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY EUGENE LINDAS, OF GREATBEND, KANSAS.

DENTAL APPLIANCE.

SPECIFTCATION forming part of Letters'Patent N0. 702,805, dated June 17,1902.

Application filed October 21, 1901. Serial No. 79,376. (No model-3 To(0% whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY EUGENE LINDAS, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Greatbend, in'the county of Barton and State ofKansas, have invented a new and Improved Dental Appliance, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in devices for use in thecorrection of certain irregularities of the teeth and to establishharmonious relations between the jaws; and the objects are to enable theoperator to make use of all the teeth in each dental arch as areciprocal anchorage for changing the relative shape of maxilla and atthe same time permit the opening and closing of the mouth and allnecessary movement of the lower jaw without interfering with the amountor direction of force to be used in the correction of the facial or oraldeformityt'. e., where one maxilla is anterior to normal and occlud ingor opposite maxilla is posterior to normal the appliance will enable theoperator to exercise reciprocal force to bring both maxilla to normalposition, to make use of all the teeth in one arch as an anchorage toforce the occluding maxilla to normal, to make use of the teethin onedental arch as an anchorage to correct a mesial or distal occlusionoccurring on one side of occluding arch, to make use of the teeth inboth dental arches as a reciprocal anchorage in correctingirregularities of individual teeth in each arch, and to make use ofteeth in one arch to correct irregularities of teeth in occluding dentalarch.

I will describe a dental appliance embodying my invention and then pointout the novel features in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 shows a dental appliance embodying my invention as in use. Fig.2 is a side view of the device. Fig. 3 is a plan view, partly insection. Fig. 4. is a sectional elevation. Fig. 5 is a sectional viewshowing one of the forcing-screws employed. Fig. 6 is a similar viewshowing a detail hereinafter more fully described, and Fig. 7 is adetail showing the means of attaching an anchoring-arch.

The device comprises hinge members 1 2 at opposite sides, pivotedtogether by means of a screw or pins 3, and on the inner members of thehinges are eyes 4:, from which straps or cords 6 extend to a cap 7,designed to be placed on a persons head to hold the device in position.The hinge-sections are connected by means of springs 8, which have theircentral portions coiled about the screws 3, one memberrof the'sp ringengaging with a lug 9 on the inner hinge-section, while the other memberof the spring engages with a lug 10 on the outer hinge-section. Thesesprings are designed to equalize the force or pressure of the devicewhen the mouth is open. When the appliance is adjusted to the teeth andhead-gear,.the hinge-sections will of course remain in their properpositions without theaid of the spring. When the appliance is'properlyadjusted, the pin 3, holding the hinge members 1 and 2, is oppositeand-immediately external to the tempora maxillary articulation, and therelation of the lower arch, hereinafter described, to the lower jaw isperfect; but when the mouth is opened the condyles of the lowermaxillary slide forward, leaving the hinge at the pin 3, poste' rior tothe point of articulation of the jaw. This would tend to hold the mouthopen. The springs 8 overcome this difficulty.

From the inner hinge-section a shank 11 extends downward and is adjustably connected with the vertical portion of an elbow or anglebar 12.As here shown, the vertical portion of the angle-bar is tubular and theshank 11 is seated therein and held as adjusted by means of athumb-screw 13. The member 2 of the hinge is also provided with a shank14, which engages in the tubular vertical portion of an elbow orangle-bar 15 and is held as adjusted by means of a thumb-screw 16. Thehorizontal portions of theseelbows or anglebars are also tubular for aportion. of their length. At the bend, however, I prefer to place insaid elbows or angle-bars a filling 17, of metal, so as to strengthenthe parts at the bend.

Connecting telescopically with the horizontal portions of the elbows 12is an arch-bar 18, which may be held as adjusted by means ofthumb-screws 19, and connecting telescopically with the horizontalportions of the el-' bows 15 is a lower arch-bar 20, which may be heldas adjusted by means of set-screws 21. Arranged between the ends of thehorizontal portions of the elbows 15 and collars 22, adjustable on theside members of the arch-bar 20, are springs 23, the tension of whichmay be regulated by adjusting the collars 22 and securing them asadjusted by set-screws 24.

From the inner members of the hinges bracebars extend to connectionswith the side portions of the upper arch-bar 18. Each brace consists ofan upper section 25, pivoted to the hinge-section 1, and a lower section26, pivoted to a lug on the upper side of the archbar 18, as clearlyshown in the drawings. The member 26 is adjustable in the member 25, andmay be held as adjusted by a thumbscrew 27. Similar braces connect thehingesections 2 with the lower arch-bar. As here shown, these bracesconsist of upper tubular members 28, pivoted on the lugs 10, and lowermembers 29, pivoted to the sides of the side portions of the lowerarch-bar 20. The members 29 may be held as adjusted in the members 28 bymeans of set or thumb screws 30; but when desired the said thumb-screwsmay be loosened, so as to permit a spring yielding play between themembers by means of springs 31, arranged between the ends of the membersor sections 28, and collars 32, arranged on the members 29.

It will be noted that the elbow-sections 12 are on a slightly-higherplane than the elbow-sections 15. Therefore they can swing readily freeof one another, and it will be also noted that the severalset or thumbscrews are so located as to not interfere with the movements of theparts.

The central portions of the arch-bars are somewhat flattened, asindicated in Fig. 3, and in the lower bar are forcing-screws 33, whichare designed to engage with projections in the form of balls, asindicated at 34, these balls or projections being secured to ananchoring-arch 35. This arch-bar 35 is to be placed in the mouth of thepatient, and it has yielding hook ends for engaging with teethinawell-understoodmanner. Theinner ends of the screws, as shown in Fig.5, are concaved. The arch-bars are shown as provided with atraction-screw 36 and two forcingscrews 33; but it will be understoodthat in practice both of the arch-bars will be provided with such numberof traction-screws and forcing-screws as may be required by theirregularity which the device is employed to correct.

The springs 23 and 31, together with the collars 22 and32 and screws 30and 38, are to be used on the arch-bar 18 and its brace 26 in thecorrection of some irregularities and upon the arch-bar 20 and its brace29 in the correction of other irregularities. The springs 23 and 31 areto restrict and control the backward and forward movement of the lowerjaw and act as a cushion to the force. WVhen it is desired to move thelower jaw forward, the spring 23 presses the arch-bar 2O forward, andthe spring is arranged as shown in Fig. 2. In this case thetraction-screw 36 should be inserted in the arch-bar 20 and theforcingscrew in the arch-bar 18. When the lower jaw is to be pushedbackward, the positions of the screws are reversed-that is, thetraction-screw is inserted in the arch 18 and the forcing-screw in thearch 20; but the springs in order to exert backward pressure should beplaced on the arch-bar 1S and its brace 26.

In order to protect the threaded openings for the forcing screws whenthe tractionsorews are inserted in said openings, I provide a bushing36, as shown in Fig. 6.

In forcing the upper jaw forward the springs and the traction-screw andforcing-screw are arranged the same as when the lower jaw is to beforced backward, while in forcing the upper jaw backward the springs andscrews are arranged the same as when forcing the lower jaw forward. Theforce being entirely reciprocal, it is obvious that this arrangement isnecessary.

IVhen the springs, collars, and set-screws are on the arch-bar 20 andbrace 29, the setscrews 27 and 30 are to be loosened and all otherstightened, while when the springs, collars, and set-screws are on thearch-bar 18 and its brace 26 the set-screws 27 and 19 are to be loosenedand all others tightened.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent 1. A dental appliance, comprising arch bars onearranged above the other, springyielding hinge members with which saidarch bars are adj ustably connected, and braces ex-.

tending between the sections of the hinges and the arch-bars,substantially as specified.

2. A dental appliance, comprising archbars one arranged above the other,elbow members in which the side portions of the arch-bars are arrangedto slide, spring-yielding hinges having adjustable connection with theupwardly-disposed sections of the elbows, spring-yieldingbrace-connections between the outer members of the hinges and the lowerarch-bar, and adjustable brace connections between the inner members ofthe hinges and the upper arch-bar, substantially as specified.

In a dental appliance, upper and lower arch-bars, elbow members in thehorizontal portions of which the side portions of the upper arch-bar aremounted to slide, elbow members in the horizontal portions of which thesides of the lower arch-bar are mounted to slide, adjustable collars onthe side portions of the lower arch-bar, springs arranged between saidcollars and the ends of the elbows, spring-yielding hinges, stemsextending from the outer sections of the hinges into theupwardly-disposed sections of the elbows connecting with the lowerarch-bar, means for holding said stems as adjusted, stems extendandsliding con nection, substantially as speci- I 5 fied.

5. A dental appliance, comprising upper and lower arch-bars pivotedtogether, the pivotal connection being above the plane of the bars.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

HENRY EUGENE LINDAS.

Witnesses:

LOUIS ZUTAVERN, FRANK W. BRINKMAN.

